2008 - Total Immersion

The games in 2008 were the most recent so obviously I remember the most about them. The other reason I remember them so well is the fact I watched as much of them as I could. It probably had something to do with the fact that we were doing so well at them collecting our best medal haul in (my) living memory.

They kicked off on the same day as the Dinkling Green Boozefest so the first thing I remember is from the drive home. The first thing we learned was that Nicole Cooke had won the women's race cycling which while not completely unexpected was a very welcome piece of news. Next they switched over to live Archery on Radio 5 (don't hear that very often) where our women's team were in a bronze medal shoot out. Archery is strange when listened to on the radio. It mainly consists if the commentator saying who is going to shoot and then shouting a number generally between 8 and 10 with the volume level varying depending on the score. We lost the shoot out but it kept us entertained between Chipping and Longridge so it served it's purpose.

Britain were the best in the world at no fewer than 3 Olympic sports. They topped the medal table in Cycling, Rowing and Sailing with us winning no fewer than 8 gold medals in Cycling. Lots of good northern folk taking part on the track too though it was a shame that Cav couldn't get in on the act. hopefully he will nab a gold this year. None of those events really stick in the mind though apart from for the fact we were so much better than the rest of the world.

In the pool we found a new hero in the shape of Becky Adlington. She won the 400m and 800m which were our first female gold medals in swimming for 250 years, or something like that.

Also in swimming there was the new event of open water marathon swimming. We did very well at this getting silvers in mens and womens. David Davies could have won it if he hadn't gone the wrong way near the end. Doh! Keri Anne Payne is our big hope in this for us this year and the Douglii will be there cheering her on.

In Athletics Christine Ohurugu won the 400m but possibly the defining image of the games was Usain Bolt in the sprints. The way he demolished the field had to be seen to be believed.

The other memories I have are of us having some pretty decent boxers (apart from the one who didn't make the weight) with James De Gale winning gold and a couple of others getting medals. I also remember the Taekwondo where Sarah Stevenson was robbed of a win after kicking her opponent in the head. We protested and in the end she won. Which was nice. She ended up with a bronze medal.

All in all 2 weeks well spent.